Is there a political theory in Mary Wollstonecraft’s writings? The question is relevant since Wollstonecraft’s main preoccupation was moral rather than political: the duty of every thinking person to strive to make themselves as good as they can be. This is a complex duty, involving independent thought, acting on principles of reason, and making oneself useful to others. The challenge involved in this endeavor is a recurrent theme in most of what she wrote. Under what circumstances is it legitimate to lay this expectation on people? How could it be fair to expect of the poor to regard independence of mind as a primary concern, when they can hardly feed their children?